Cardioprotective Drug Cuts Bypass Surgery Risk

A cardioprotective drug could cut the threat of post-operative heart attacks in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients nearly in half.

MC-1 is a cardioprotective, naturally occurring molecule intended for the treatment of acute ischemia and ischemic reperfusion injury in patients experiencing percutaneous coronary interventions, CABG surgery, and acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Currently, MC-1 has completed two positive phase II studies, one in angioplasty patients and a 901-patient CABG study, called MEND-CABG. In the MEND-CABG study, patients undergoing CABG surgery who received MC-1 showed a 47% decrease in post-operative hearts attacks. MC-1 is currently being evaluated in a phase III trial (MEND-CABG II), which is enrolling up to 3,000 patients undergoing CABG surgery at approximately 120 cardiac surgical centers throughout North America and Europe.

MC-1 is being developed by Medicure (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), which is conducting the phase III study in conjunction with the Duke Clinical Institute (DCRI; Durham, NC, USA) and the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI; Canada). MC-1 has received a fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"If the ongoing phase III MEND-CABG II study delivers similar data to the previous phase II study, MC-1 could represent a major and easy-to-implement advance in the treatment of patients undergoing CABG and perhaps other major cardiac surgery,” said Dr. John H. Alexander, an associate professor of medicine in the division of cardiovascular medicine at the DCRI, and a member of the MEND-CABG II steering committee.

Studies with MC-1 suggest that it works by protecting cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells). Since cardiomyocytes are essential for normal heart function and do not regenerate themselves following an ischemic event, their preservation is key to minimizing ischemic damage and maintaining proper heart function.


Related Links:
Medicure
Duke Clinical Institute
Montreal Heart Institute